Red Arrows cancel display at Southport Air Show due to ‘unexpected heavy showers’ in Blackpool

The world-famous display team were due to appear at the show around midday on Saturday (September 9).

But crowds were left disappointed after a wet runway in Blackpool made take-off conditions difficult.

An announcement over the event’s PA system broke the news to guests, apologising for the “massive disappointment” it would cause.

A post also appeared on the Red Arrows’ social media feeds which said: “Unfortunately, our display at Southport Air Show has been cancelled due to a very wet runway at Blackpool Airport and low cloud, which is unsuitable for close formation display flying.”

A photo of a view from one of the cockpits was also posted, which showed rain on the windscreen and the words “Sorry Southport Air Show”.

The Red Arrows were stationed at Blackpool Airport ahead of the event after flying up north on Friday, September 8.

Many people spotted them flying over the River Mersey as they made their way to the seaside.

In a thread on X (formerly Twitter) Wing Cdr Adam Collins, who is the Officer Commanding The Red Arrows explained in more detail the reasons behind the cancellation.

He said: "We’re disappointed that we couldn’t display at the Southport airshow, but unexpected heavy showers, localised to Blackpool meant the runway would not be safe for us to land on after the display.

"None of the other airfields close to Southport were available for use this weekend.

"Unfortunately the runway wouldn’t have dried in time for our display. Delaying until later in the day isn’t an option - we have a large column of restricted airspace specifically for our safety that is only active for a few minutes either side of our planned display time window.

"That restricted airspace time window is booked weeks in advance with the Civil Aviation Authority and cannot be changed on the day. It’s limited in duration to allow other aircraft into the area when we’re not planning to fly."